6th body recovered at Ulsan power plant

Construction vehicles move debris to clear a path for the search for missing workers under a collapsed boiler tower at a thermal power plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan, Wednesday. Yonhap

A sixth body was recovered from under a collapsed boiler tower at a thermal power plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan on Thursday, leaving one worker still trapped, firefighting authorities said.

The body belonged to a 30-something worker, surnamed Kim, who had been spotted in the debris the same day the 63-meter tower collapsed last Thursday but was unable to be rescued due to a mesh of metals that blocked access.

The discovery raises the confirmed death toll to six, with a search still under way for one worker who has yet to be located.

The plant is operated by the Korea East-West Power Co., a state-run utility. At the time of its collapse, Tower 5 had been in the process of being demolished after 40 years of use ending in 2021.

Two other towers had flanked it, but both were blown up Tuesday to remove the risk they too could crumble during the search for the missing.